Making disciples of Christ in Taiwan

Month: June 2010

Remember us mentioning a while ago that we had started a recruitment website to call new missionaries to join our ministry here in Taiwan? Well we’re proud to announce that our first official 2 missionaries arrived in country just a few days ago. Their names are Robert and Lacey, and they are planning to live in Taiwan and serve with us at Truth Church for the next 3-5 years! Robert recently graduated from Columbia International University in SC, and Lacey is a Toccoa Falls graduate. During the past few days we helped them find an apartment, begin the process of getting cell phones, and start finding their way around Taipei. They are even learning some simple Chinese characters already!

Tomorrow being Sunday, Pastor Moses is taking them along to a daughter church plant of Truth Church, where he is preaching. The reason for Robert and Lacey going along is that they will be teaching an English Bible Club in this small church plant for 5 weeks during the summer. Going with Pastor Moses will give them a good chance to see the church and meet the co-workers that will help them teach the English Club.

We also have another couple living at our house right now, whose names are Ben and Beth. They arrived the same day as Robert and Lacey, and are hoping to teach English while doing ministry here.

Please pray for these two couples to make a smooth transition into the Taiwanese culture, and for them to be open to new challenges as they seek to serve our Lord in Taiwan!

Thanks for your prayers, and for keeping in touch!!Blessings,Erich and Kelley

**written by Kel**Taipei City is full of Night Markets. Some are big, some are bigger. They best way to describe a Night Market is to picture a ton of food vendors and clothing shops lining narrow streets and then throw in a horde of people. Some also provide games to play, which give it more of a carnival feel. They are the central hub of Taiwan’s night life and usually provide one with a good experience. However this past Saturday night I went with two friends to one of the biggest Night Markets in Taipei, Shi Lin Night Market. After throwing baseballs and darts, we decided we were hungry and quickly decided we wanted some Ji Pai (deep fried chicken) and Chua Bing (shaved ice with fruit and condensed milk on top). Great combo, right? Well, it all went down nicely but into the wee hours of Sunday morning we all (unbeknown to each other since we were all in our respective beds) had the familiar “some-night-market-food-is-making-my-stomach-very-unhappy” feeling set in. First your stomach starts to gurgle. Then the pain starts shooting. Then you know you better hit the bathroom before it’s too late. Unfortunately, our choices of deep fried chicken and shaved iced turned out not to be so good and we all wound up with food poisoning, I with the most severe case. Not sure if it was the chicken or the milk poured over our ice was bad. Either way Sunday was rough and only after many trips to the bathroom, sleeping for 16 hours, and re-hydrating my body with fluid did I began to feel better. Oh, the joys of eating in a Night Market. Would I eat there again? Most definitely 🙂

We wanted to share this video with you. It’s from Fabiana, a Taiwanese girl whom we first met while teaching an English Bible club a few years ago. Through the care of Christian friends around her she gave her life to Christ not too long ago. The video was made in appreciation of her friends. We are in a few of the pictures, and thought putting this video up might give all of you an idea of some of the different ministries we have been involved in.

Besides us, some people you might recognize in the pictures are:
– our cell group members Hannah and Julianne, Rhys, and Rosanna
– our pastor’s wife Joyce
– Alicia

Here’s an approximate translation of the Chinese text at the beginning:

“I have been looking for some kind of truth for a while, but it has never appeared to me.
Once you appeared, fullness of life came.”

Greetings from Taiwan! Last week we exchanged our busy lives in the bustling city for three days in the middle of nature. We had a week of break between classes, and used this opportunity to get away and recharge, both physically and spiritually. Perhaps the greatest part of those few days away was having uninterrupted time to share together what the Lord has been teaching us recently, as well as having extended times of prayer. Whether busy in the city, or relaxed in nature, one thing always stays the same- we serve a great God who wants to do even greater things than we can imagine! What a privilege to serve Him!

Prayer Requests:

Our new quarter of language school began yesterday. Due to a scheduling conflict, we were placed into a class that is four chapters ahead of where we ended last quarter. It may not sound like much, but that equals about 200 new Chinese characters that we need to self study in order to catch up to our class’s level. Please pray for wisdom and quick understanding!

In three weeks we will welcome the first set of new teachers/co-workers that are arriving this summer (2 couples). Please pray for a smooth adjustment and insight into how they can best fit in ministry here.

Please pray for our monthly support need of $400 to be met.

Praises:

Our Bilingual Alpha season had its final meeting last Friday night. Over the course we saw more than 100 Seekers come and hear about the Lord! Several are now going through a book entitled, “Begin Your New Life”, which goes deeper into basic Christian doctrine, and several groups are continuing to meet on their own.

Praise the Lord for knowing our needs and always meeting them. The above mentioned ‘get-away’ was made possible through a dear friend’s generous giving. When we thought we wouldn’t be able to go away due to finances, the next day we received a card from a friend with the exact amount the trip was going to cost us, saying the Lord had told her to give this to us. What a kind and mighty God we serve!

It is a blessing to have a strong network of prayer warriors and supporters interceding on our behalf- thank you for partnering with us in His Kingdom work!